Knox to stand trial with former lover for Kercher murder

Amanda Knox, the American student accused of murdering her British flatmate Meredith Kercher in the home they shared in the Umbrian city of Perugia, must face a full trial for her alleged crimes, along with her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. The trial will begin at Perugia's court of assizes on 4 December.

Announcing his decision in a closed court in Perugia at the end of a marathon 11-hour session last night, Judge Paolo Micheli also sentenced Rudy Guede, 21, who had elected a fast-track trial, to 30 years for murder and sexual assault. Guede, originally from the Ivory Coast, was the only defendant who admitted being in the flat at the time of the murder, though he denied involvement.

Meredith's sister, Lyle Kercher, said of the verdicts: "Pleased is not an appropriate word to use about this. Satisfied is the best we can say."

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Prosecutors had initially claimed that Ms Knox, her boyfriend, and a bar manager called Patrick Lumumba for whom Ms Knox had worked part-time, lured Ms Kercher into a drug-and drink-fuelled orgy in the flat the two young women shared.

When Ms Kercher resisted, the other three tried to force her and ended up murdering her. Prosecutors have sustained this scenario since November 2007, but Mr Lumumba was discharged when it was proved he had an alibi. Two weeks after the killing, police found bloody fingerprints belonging to Rudy Guede on a cushion that was under Ms Kercher's body. Guede, a drug dealer and serial burglar, fled Italy after the murder and was arrested in Germany after being stopped while travelling on a train without a ticket, and then extradited.

On 1 November last year, Ms Kercher, 21, a Leeds University student who had recently moved to Perugia, went to her flat near the city centre shortly after 9pm. Some time over the following few hours she was attacked, partly undressed, stabbed three times in the throat and choked.

Prosecutors told the court that 47 bruises and wounds were found on her body. All three defendants denied that Ms Kercher, from Coulsdon, Surrey, was killed at the culmination of an orgy. Lawyers for Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito claimed they were not present that evening.

Lovers for a fortnight, they said they spent most of the night together at Mr Sollecito's flat nearby, smoking cannabis and watching a video.

Guede's lawyers said Ms Kercher invited him into the flat where he had sexual foreplay with her but then went to the lavatory with a stomach problem. They said he played no part in the killing, a claim the judge rejected.

Last week, Mr Sollecito's lawyers blamed Guede for the attack on Ms Kercher. They said he smashed a window and she disturbed him in the act of burglary.

Sending Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito for trial for murder, sexual violence and the theft of of Ms Kercher's cash and credit cards, Judge Micheli gave notice that he considered they both had a serious case to answer.

His decision on whether they can move from prison to house arrest will be announced tomorrow.

Asked whether the family now had a better idea what happened the night Ms Kercher died, her brother John said: "Not really. The judge will put his reasons into writing and we will take from that some of the story."